For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

I found this calculator on Sittercity...

Rate Calculator



(on a side note, if you do your calculation, do you find the rate to be a little high?)

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

For my area, it is right on what girls have been asking. Of course I think it is high vs. what I made at that age but it is the going rate now

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

Totally high!! It says $16/hr!!!

ETA - I don't know how accurate this is. It gave me a higher rate for my zip code (Queens) then for midtown manhattan, which I know cannot be true!!

Message edited 8/13/2009 10:32:57 AM.

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

Yeah, I think it is high, considering I always charged what the parents felt what was necessary. I sometimes walked away with $20 for 6 hours!

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

I think it's about right.

It's usually $10-$15 per hour depending on location, babysitter's age and number of kids.

ETA: this is also through a website through you will pay a bit higher since you can look for babysitters in their website. You don't really post an ad yourself.

Message edited 8/13/2009 11:04:25 AM.

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

for me (I live in Ca) it says $11. I pay my sitter $10. I don't know what sitters go for around here, when I hired my sitter I said I was offering $10 and she was ok with that so I assume thats normal for around here (with 2 kids).

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

i'm going babysitting today for the people I used to work for....it says I should be getting 17.25 an hour!

I'm not

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

maybe these rates are on-the-books rates, which would make more sense, since most people pay their babysitters/nannies off the books cash so they pay a little less.

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

More expensive.

Sitters - college graduates - by me charge $11/hour. According to this it's $14.75 /hour.

My mom babysits/does post partum doula work for $15/hour. At one house she had 3-4 kids & it was still $15.

Message edited 8/13/2009 11:36:31 AM.

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

that is ridiculous. it says i should pay 17.75 an hour.

maybe the babysitter is WORTH that much but i dont pay that!!!

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

I don't think it's too unreasonable. It's about 1 dollar off from what i pay.

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

I also think the childs age should be factored in. Its was different taking care of a newborn vs a 10 yr old. I get the extra # for a newborn but when your child can entertain themselves and the sitter can watch the TV...I think the price should go down.

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

Childcare is an area I don't skimp on. I paid my sitter/nanny very well, gave her gifts, paid days off and lots of extras. This fall, when DD goes to daycare, we chose one that we felt most comfortable with, even though the price is steep. You can't put a dollar sign of peace of mind.

My "calculator" said $16 per hour, which was about what I paid, but can't be positive because of days I took off and still paid or paid her for 5 hours but came home after 3 etc.

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

When I hired my nanny I asked her what she wanted and she asked for $8 an hour. I know I have an insane deal. She is awesome and takes care of the boys so well.

I actually feel bad sometimes because she deserves double that, but I would not be able to afford her then. So like Snickers I do what I can. I buy food she likes, give her days off whenever she wants, and have given her gift cards and things like that when I can afford it. I think she is happy working for us. In the Fall or Spring she will be finishing her degree and I will work around her schedule as much as I can.

Re: For those who wonder "how much to pay my babysitter?"

Yes it is high for me, we pay our sitter less than this, and she was one of the pricier ones I had met with, but I really liked her, her experience was great, and you get what you pay for sometimes.